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CHAPTEK II. 



FELLING AND CONVERSION OP TIMBER. 



THE second chapter of this book deals with the methods of 

 felling trees and converting them into logs and scantling, 

 which are then handed over to the consumer. 



The foremost rule in conversion of timber is also common to 

 all industrial undertakings, and is as follows : Consider care- 

 fully the uses which may be made of the raw material, and 

 then act as far as possible without diminishing the pro- 

 ductivity of the forest, and in accordance with the current 

 demands of the market. 



Since the produce of every forest comes under the influence 

 of a special market, the wares required by which are multi- 

 farious, while local requirements, customs, and usages are also 

 influential, there must be many modes of conversion suitable 

 for different localities. In the following sections, therefore, 

 the results of experience are considered, their utility gauged, 

 and a decision formed as to the basis of a rational system of 

 Forest Utilization. 



SECTION I. MANUAL LABOUR. 

 1. General Remarks. 



The productiveness of every industry depends on the number 

 of available labourers, and on their skill and mode of organi- 

 zation. Hence, the conditions essential for profitable forest 

 utilization are plenty of good woodcutters, and good arrange- 

 ments for furthering their labour. 



The worth of a woodcutter does not depend only on the value of 

 the material which he can convert in a given time, but also on 

 his following the rules of Silviculture and Forest Protection. 



In all forest management based on the highest possible 

 pecuniary return, which may be termed Economic Forestry, it 



